By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Imports at major U.S. container seaports could hit their lowest level in four years as the novel coronavirus pandemic pummels a U.S. economy that was already grappling with negative effects of the U.S.-China trade war, experts said.
Total container imports could fall 9.4% in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates’ Global Port Tracker report.
That reflects pain in the U.S. retail sector, which is smarting from government-mandated store closures and bracing for fallout from the recent expiration of a supplemental $600 weekly unemployment benefit that put $18 billion into the U.S. economy each week.
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“Retailers are being careful not to import more than they can sell. … This is not the year to be left with warehouses full of unsold merchandise,” NRF Vice President Jonathan Gold said.
U.S. seaborne imports dropped 3.9% year-over-year in July, the slowest rate of decline this year. At the same time, month-over-month imports increased 16%, marking the fastest start to the peak shipping season since 2007, according to Panjiva, the supply chain research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Home furnishing imports were up 12.8% versus July 2019, while home appliances jumped 33.8%, and home/personal care products surged 48.9%, Panjiva’s analysis showed.
“There are signs of prepping for the year-end holiday season,” Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, the No. 1 gateway for sea trade with China, said on Thursday. “The upticks are modest” as some busy retailers restock.”
Port of Los Angeles imports fell 4.3% in July and remain down 15% year-to-date.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler)
